The Robert Mondavi Corp. agreed Wednesday to a $1.36 billion merger with beverage giant Constellation Brands Inc., ending a plan to split apart the brands of one of California’s most storied winemakers. Under the agreement, Constellation will acquire all of Mondavi’s brands and bolster its existing portfolio that includes Corona Extra and St. Pauli Girl beers as well as a number of wines. Constellation is already the world’s largest wine producer. Constellation will acquire all the outstanding shares of Mondavi for $56.50 per share for Class A common stock and $65.82 for Class B common stock. It includes about $1.03 billion of equity and the assumption of $325 million in debt.

Google shares top $200

Shares of Google Inc., owner of the world’s most-used Internet search engine, rose above $200 less than three months after the company first sold shares to the public at $85. The shares reversed midday to close lower at $191.67. The Mountain View-based company, which raised $1.92 billion in its August initial offering, said last month that third-quarter profit more than doubled as it sold more advertising. Google’s stock has exceeded the price targets set by 11 analysts tracked by Bloomberg news, including the $200 estimate by Prudential analyst Mark Rowen. The shares lost $3.20, or 1.6 percent, after earlier reaching $201.60.

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Boyett Construction bought a 13,400-square-foot facility on Tripaldi Way in Hayward from Gill Jaswant. Jaswant was represented by BT Commercial Real Estate NAI of Oakland. ¶ Fremont’s ActivCard said First National Bank of South Africa is using its ActivCard Token Authentication to provide customers with one-time passwords for logging onto their Internet banking facilities. ¶ Fremont-based Avanex, an optical component provider, said net revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30 were $35.8 million, compared to $18 million in the previous year’s first quarter. ¶ ESS Technology of Fremont will make a presentation at the AeA Classic financial conference, which will be held in Monterey from Nov. 7 through Nov. 10. ¶ Electronic Arts, the world’s biggest video game maker, announced that The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age role-playing game has shipped and will be on store shelves in time for the holiday season. ¶ Nektar Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm, reported third-quarter revenue of $28.5 million compared to $27.4 million for the third quarter of 2003.

SAN JOSE -- Grenades were discovered at an estate sale Monday, prompting the evacuation of about 10 homes near the San Jose Country Club, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to the 300 block of Gordon Avenue, near Greenside Drive, about 4:10 p.m., said Sgt. Rich Glennon. Get breaking news with our free mobile app....

The seven adult children of David and Louise Turpin, the couple accused of abusing and imprisoning them for years at their Perris home, have been released from the hospital, their attorney said Monday.